Displaced With Nowhere To GoTwo stories from Boston's history that affected many people's lives.

"Perhaps that's why many people save artifacts, souvenirs, tangible memories from their past, collecting and treasuring street signs, old advertisements, etc., so that the loss isn't so utter, so complete, that the act of rescuing some remnant from the unseeing, unfeeling, indiscriminate bulldozer is in itself- a victory."-Charlotte Ploss, The West Ender, volume 13, number 1

Boston is a city that prides itself on its significance in America's history. If you walk through Boston, you will find representations of history on every corner in the form of statues, museums, and plaques. These representations tell stories to those who will stop and listen, but they usually only tell one side of the story. What they tend to leave out are the dirty parts of Boston's history; the parts that displaced entire populations of Boston's people and closed necessary mental facilities.

Throughout Boston's history, entire neighborhoods and groups of people have been uprooted and told to leave, but not told where to go. This website focuses on two instances in Boston's history when this has occurred: one in the past and one that is more recent. The West End was a Boston neighborhood that was replaced in the late 1950s. The West End Renewal resulted in thousands of people being forced to leave their homes so that the city could build a newer, more expensive neighborhood and buildings. More recently, the demolition of the Long Island Bridge in 2014 resulted in the displacement of hundreds of homeless people and a loss of work for many others. They were told to leave the island and seek a different shelter, even though there were not enough beds in local shelters to make up for those lost with the closing of the bridge.

During its evolution, Boston has always prided itself on being a city of preservation and inclusion. While it can present this idea quite well, looking just a little further can make all of the difference. Its countless monuments respect and memorialize multiple events, but none represent its wrong doings. In addition, it works to mask the people it has cut short, as their vantage points are not widely represented nor accepted. Ultimately, if there is a group of people that seem as though they are not beneficial to the growth of the city in the eyes of regulators, then their ideas will often be neglected. As you click through this website, you will find the stories from people who have been underrepresented in Boston's history. In the past, their stories have been told from the point of view of politicians and board members who believed they knew what was in Boston's best interest. This website however, is dedicated to making the stories of the displaced heard.

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